British patient No 57 tests negative for COVID-19

A quarantine site at a hospital in central Việt Nam. A British COVID-19 patient tested negative for the first time at Quảng Nam Province's Núi Thành central general hospital. VNS Photo Võ Dũng

QUẢNG NAM — British COVID-19 patient No 57, who was receiving treatment at the general hospital in Núi Thành District, tested negative with SARS-CoV-2 for the first time since March 16.

Deputy director of the provincial health department, Mai Văn Mười, confirmed the test result on Wednesday, saying the male patient, 66, had a sample taken on March 28 after 12 days of treatment at the hospital.

He said the patient is in good health, with no cough or fever and breathing trouble. X-Ray results revealed an improvement in his lungs since the first day of treatment at the hospital.

The patient would leave the hospital if he receives a second negative test and was without fever on three consecutive days, he added.

According to a report released on Wednesday, the province took 907 medical samples, of which 651 were from foreigners, and 754 samples tested negative for COVID-19. More than 1,100 people out of 1,455 had finished 14-day quarantine.

All people coming to Quảng Nam from COVID-19-affected localities will be taken to mass quarantine sites, and they have to pay 50 per cent of meal costs and 100 per cent of the test fee, the province said in a meeting on Wednesday. — VNS